Cowbell's GOTY Awards Part 2: The Top Ten

(Link to Part 1 - http://www.ign.com/blogs/morecowbell24/2013/01/09/cowbells-goty-awards-part-1-misc-awards/)

10. X-COM: Enemy Unknown

I miss Time Units. I was really amazed at how easy I found Enemy Unknown to play. I picked up the controller and didn't have to look at a tutorial or the controls screen. I just knew how to play. It's weird that I knew what buttons to press immediately, and that is probably what I like most about this X-COM. It's so easy to understand its inner-workings. I might have been the only one though. I beat the game in 209 game days, compared to the average 345. While I like Time Units from UFO Defense. This one is just so intuitive and simple, it made for a good change of pace.

9. Spelunky (HD)

I've messed around with the original since the XBLA version was released, and this game feels almost like a proper sequel. I almost disqualified on the basis of it being a remake, but it's so much more than a remake. The graphics and controls are all a notch above its 2009 predecessor, and it hooked me like few other games have this year. After every death I immediately had to start again, because it could be the run. That led to hours of Spelunky in one sitting.

8. Hotline Miami

Slinging boiling water and bad dudes never felt so right as it did with Hotline Miami's beats had my head bobbing. Neither did slitting throats, gouging eyes and cracking skulls. I might need help.

7. Mark of the Ninja

Hooray for 2012 reinvigorating stealth. Mark of the Ninja is so well designed that I don't even know what to say. How it conveys all the information you need to know in a stealth game is understated in a way that makes the game one of the best stealth games ever made.

6. FTL: Faster Than Light

It's not quite a rogue-like, but it stole hours from me in the same way. The combat is basically something I've never enjoyed, JRPG combat. Somehow though, I am excited by every engagement. That's probably because I'm juggling my crew, power supply and weapons all at once. It also can't hurt that any encounter could very well be my last and when it is, it's as easy as hitting restart to be back in it with restored hopes and dreams.

5. Mass Effect 3

While the ending was disappointing, the side quests being trivial and the DLC mishaps are dirty business, I can't ignore how I felt about the larger parts of Mass Effect 3. It featured some of my favorite moments of the series, and from a gameplay perspective it balanced the RPG and Shooter when its predecessors leaned too far in either direction.

4. Syndicate

It's the most tragic game of 2012. A strategy game reborn as a shooter was doomed to fail. It's a shame, because Syndicate is an awesome shooter. The tools it gives you are more interesting and seamless than most other shooters. The singleplayer is a strong corridor shooter by itself, but the cooperative mode is some of the best FPS co-op there is. I just wish other people would see that.

3. Dishonored

The city of Dunwall is a well developed world. Not so well as some game worlds, but well enough for it to be of note. That there is a great action and/or stealth game for you to play in this fantastical world of note is more noteworthy. The combat doesn't feel sacrificed for the stealth and the stealth doesn't feel sacrificed for the combat. Both or a mix of the two styles, work just as well and that is Dishonored's greatest feature, and even sticking to one style exclusively offers a better experience than most games this year.

2. The Walking Dead

It made me do what no other game has ever done. I cried. The Walking Dead is so well written, the characters are so well realized, the choices are so intense, and the situation grows more and more dire. Every little interaction feels important, and that's not something that can be said of many games.

1. Journey

There is and probably won't ever be anything else like it. In an hour and a half Journey accomplishes something it takes most games several hours to accomplish if they accomplish it at all. Journey feels whole. It crescendos into the most thrilling and exciting adventure of the year. It's a magical experience, mystical even.